"The winner of this match is, Leader Jasmine!"
A young trainer groaned, returning his fainted pokémon into the capsule. Instead of thanking Jasmine for the gym battle, the trainer stormed out of the gym. A scowl across his face upon his defeat. Jasmine watched him stomp away. Behind stood her referee, an elderly gentleman named Preston. "Very telling of that trainer's character. I hope he matures."
"He's only young," Jasmine said. "I'm sure he'll grow up." She walked out of the gym.
"There is one more battle today, is there not?" Preston asked.
"Yes, within an hour and a half. I'm heading to the lighthouse to check on Dratini, I'll be back. Watch over the gym for me."
Gentleman Preston took off his hat in obedience. "Of course, Leader Jasmine."
Jasmine strolled through the sidewalk, making a quick glimpse at her Pokégear. While Dratini was feeling better, Lance's words of advice tormented the back of her mind. She had an idea to visit Blackthorn tomorrow, but it would be improper to visit without alerting her. Clair was only a dial away. She had her number, easy to call for advice and to schedule a visit. Yet stood hesitance, feeling similar to a clefairy that would hide in Mt. Moon from the interaction. She wasn't particularly close to Clair, and more so found her a bit - heretical in appearance. She didn't want to make a harsh judgment. Recalling the instance where Erika and she talked over an outfit she should wear for one of Sinnoh's Super Contests, only to potentially mock Clair's outfit when Erika suggested a similar attire.
Thinking of Erika, Jasmine paused in her tracks. Of course! She was a close friend and could give some general advice. She respected Celadon's Gym Leader for her beauty, wisdom, and grace that many admired of. But the request for advice would not be for a contest.
She pondered on what Erika would say, probably suggesting to speak with Clair regardless if she needed help on raising a dragon type. Her encouragement to open up would be exactly what she would vouch for, as it always had been. Especially in the past when she did visit Sinnoh before, not just participated in contests, but also meet new people...
Jasmine stopped dwelling over an impending thought. As she knew remembering it would not serve its purpose, even if it brought her nostalgia. She took a deep breath, pulled out her Pokégear, and dialed Clair's number. After waiting on the line, she picked up a voicemail... indicating Clair was not available. She hung up and would try again later.
"You sure you can carry all of that back to Olivine?" Whitney asked. "I don't know if that basket is gonna hold all that food tight." Janina stuffed the bags of bought food in her bike's basket. It was a revelation that Jasmine's assistant had found her location quickly. The two along with Bugsy stood outside of Goldenrod Department Store.
"It's okay, this bike is pretty sturdy," replied Janina. "It'll take me to where I need to go! If not, I can always call Onix for help!"
"Your main pokémon, right?" Bugsy asked.
"Yup! I've had him for years, he's my best friend!" Janina exclaimed cheerfully. "And you two specialize in normal and bug-type pokémon, right?
Whitney grinned. "Of course, I specialize in the adorable normal type while little Bugster here specializes in the icky bug type!"
"Really? They're not icky." Bugsy sighed as Whitney ruffled his hair and stuck out her tongue.
Janina giggled. "That's so cool! I hope to specialize in a type one day too! Right now, I am having a hard choice between rock and steel."
"Oh yeah, Jasmine specialized in rock pokémon at one point," Whitney said.
"I'm sure whatever typing you choose, you will master it well," said Bugsy with encouragement.
"Thank you Leaders Bugsy and Whitney! You two are so nice! I'm glad to see you guys again!"
"Aw, don't sweat it!" Whitney embraced Janina in a warm hug. "You're one tough cookie for riding your bike all the way here! It must have been a long ride! Tell Jasmine the receipt is in the bag for the money she owes me."
Janina wriggled out of the embrace. "I will! It's all thanks to Champion Lance! Thanks to him, Dratini is doing better now!"
"That's wonderful!" Bugsy exclaimed. Whitney rolled her eyes upon hearing the name of Dratini's 'savior', starting to wonder why Lance was respectful to Jasmine but not to her. The Goldenrod Gym Leader had different impressions of him after the recent conflict.
"Hey," She whispered, bringing Janina close to her. "Word of warning, Lance is an ass."
"What?! But he was so nice in helping Jasmine!"
"Whit, what are you putting in that girl's head?" Bugsy asked suspiciously.
"But you didn't hear it from me," Whitney finished, moving away. "So, hush."
"Um, okay." Janina wondered why she received an opposite impression of the Dragon Master.
"You done yet with the gossip?" Bugsy facepalmed. Whitney snickered. "Hey, gotta expose fake people."
"I think you're taking what Lance did earlier a bit too personally..."
"Wait, what happened?" Janina asked. Her curiosity increased tenfold.
"Tell ya later," Whitney answered quickly. She turned to Bugsy. "And you're taking what I am saying too seriously. I'm not mad, just surprised the Champion is not what people say he is."
"Your first mistake is believing the accounts of people who generally spread muckrakes. Instead of getting to know the person."
"Oh quiet you, no need to act smart right now. Save it for the Bug Catching Contest!"
Janina wanted to press on more on the topic but declined, not when things were heading in another direction. She drew out a curious look. "Bug Catching Contest? There's one today?"
"Yup! Say... why don't you join us?" Whitney suggested merrily.
"Huh?! Whit, she has to go back to Olivine," Bugsy protested. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Pfft! We can get it over with now, and then she'll be back at Olivine before dinner!"
"I'd love to!" cried Janina. She was excited about this opportunity. Not just be free of her typical assistant duties, but engage with the other gym leaders of Johto. More so if she was training to be a future gym leader herself. "I've never been in one before! How does it work?"
"You're in luck!" Whitney showed off Bugsy. "Because we have an excellent expert here on that!"
"Uh, Whit," He said. "Don't you also have to go back to your gym – "
"All right, show me how it's done!" Janina yelled, determined.
"That's the spirit! To Ilex Forest!" Whitney marched off, the area would be their place of training. Janina followed with her bike. "Yes, Ma'am!"
Bugsy groaned, running after them. Getting roped into this would not be an easy task to bounce away from, with Whitney's own antics it was impossible. "I hope you know that I won't show any mercy during the competition!"
Morty sat again, but not at the Daycare. He was inside Goldenrod's Pokémon Center. He was ordered to stay with the dragonair's lass trainer, currently sitting next to him. Or at least, Lance wanted him to accompany the girl as he would drive to the nearest Pokémon Center. He did not refuse and was doing it out of basic respect when Lance brought the sick dragonair to the nurse at the reception earlier. Lance was the Champion, and while it did not mean automatic rule, he had some sort of influence in the political sphere of Johto. To defy his requests would leave a bad reputation on Morty's part and his city.
But with Lance himself, Morty was indifferent. He had neither high nor low impressions of him, but he observed Lance was quite formal and stern – perhaps impatient. Distinct from the reports of his character in Kanto where he was more of a celebrated trainer due to his social and fierce demeanor.
He's certainly different than what the Kantonians portray him as, Morty mused to himself. Is more comfortable with his persona there than here in Johto?
Morty turned to the lass, whose tears had dried up and was relatively quiet. That would change when a large shadow peered behind her, its scheming eyes and devilish grin hovered over the girl. The lass felt something cold behind, turning slowly. She screamed when a gengar jumped to scare her.
Gengar laughed, Morty chided his pokémon. "Control yourself, Gengar."
The ghost slipped back into the darkness. The girl nervously clung to Morty. "Ghost!"
"Relax, the gengar is mine," Morty explained. "He's just being mischievous."
"Are all ghost types full of mischief?"
"Not always, some are cold and distant. Some are violent, some are actually kind if you don't provoke them. Every ghost pokémon is different."
"I see. But, I think dragon pokémon are better," the lass said. "They're strong and majestic! Like Champion Lance and his dragonite!"
"Oh? Are you from Blackthorn City?" Morty asked.
"Yes."
"Hm, but you're from the lass class. I find it interesting that you're not a Dragon Tamer, considering the abundance of them over there."
The Lass crouched in her seat, hugging her knees. "I moved to Violet City when I was younger. So I stuck with this class because a lot of my friends were too. But I always loved dragon pokémon, others in my class thought it was weird that I had Dragonair instead of a normal or fairy type. When I first heard that someone from Blackthorn had become champion of the League, I was so happy. It brought me back to my roots, and made me realize that my true dream is to become a top dragon trainer! Just like Champion Lance! There's a reason why he's the strongest trainer in the world! He uses the best of the best!"
No wonder the rest of Johto thinks Blackthorn is a cult… Morty thought. At first, he felt sympathetic but the last few sentences had the lass sound conceited. It sounded eerie that those who hailed from Blackthorn were utterly devoted to dragon-type pokémon. A sort of deep obsession to which, he admitted was fascinating. Yet, not as interesting as the tales of the Burnt Tower, the legendary beasts that were brought back to life by the Rainbow Legendary pokémon, Ho-Oh. The history of Johto itself surpassed far beyond that of Blackthorn, and he would preserve that.
There was word of how most of Johto were concerned over the influence Blackthorn had over the region, especially with the Champion from that city. Although, he did not go beyond conspiracy theories such as the Blackthorn clan slowly making the Johto and Kanto regions into a land of dragons and Lance to rule over. Or that Lance had once commanded Dragonite to use hyper beam on a man which brought some serious concern.
Morty wanted to laugh. If such madness were to occur… he would fight to preserve Johto's mythical 1,500 year old history and historical sites.
"I see," he said. "I'm sure you'll become a strong dragon trainer someday."
"Yes, but…" Her eyes softened, looking down.
"What is it?"
"Dragonair…" The lass' eyes watered, images of her sick pokémon clouded her mind. "Why her? Why are dragon pokémon getting sick?"
Morty had no coherent answer. He heard of the cases of dragon pokémon falling ill from the Kimono Girls at Ecruteak Theater. The reports seemed farfetched, but with this being the first case he witnessed, there was truth. He placed a hand on the lass' shoulder in consolation. "Your pokémon will be all right."
It was the best he could say. The girl wiped her tears at his comfort. "T – thanks."
Lance leaned against the wall, restless for news. He watched Nurse Joy attend the dragonair in the medical ward, with glass windows separating the room from the hall. He had been waiting for over two hours but was willing to stay put until he received any sort of update.
The door of the medical ward slid open and Nurse Joy advanced toward the Dragon Master. "Thank you for waiting. The trainer's dragonair was severely dehydrated from vomiting and is taking IV fluids. Her fever also reduced a bit. She'll be just fine, but we found a terrible wound near its tail. It appears to be an acidic burn. We're treating it. We may have to keep the pokémon to stay for the night."
"Thank you for your hard work, Nurse Joy. Do whatever you must for her to regain health."
"This is simply awful." Nurse Joy clutched her medical charts. "There's been a strange spike in cases of sick pokémon across Johto! We had another case the other day where a trainer brought their gabite showing the same symptoms! All of them related to acidic wounds!"
"And it's been affecting only dragon pokémon?" Lance asked.
"Yes. We're not quite sure what is happening. You did manage to get in contact with authorities, correct?"
Lance nodded. "I have someone helping me on the case. I will ensure that this conflict is resolved."
He stepped out of the sliding doors into the lobby, the lass called out his name and Morty woke up from napping during the wait. She ran toward him. "Is my dragonair going to be okay?"
"Don't worry." Lance placed a hand on the girl's shoulder lightly. He smiled. "Your pokémon is going to be fine. She just needs some rest for the night."
The girl hugged him, weeping with joy. "Thank you, Champion! You saved her!"
Morty made no comment the tender moment spotted. At this point in time, it was necessary for the trainer, who if he had been in her shoes would be just as scared. He noted Lance saying further kind words to the girl. The trainer ended the conversation with a nod and walked into the sliding door, leading toward the medical wards. Lance changed his attention to Morty.
"She will be staying here for a while. She has a relative here in Goldenrod who will pick her up," He said. "Thank you for keeping her company."
"Are you going to take me back to the Daycare?" Morty asked. "We were in a rush to get here, I was unable to pick up Lady Zuki's pokémon."
"Ah right, follow me. I'll take you back." Lance beckoned him to come outside. Morty went to sit in the front passenger seat as Lance took the driver's. He turned on the engine, prior to moving out of the parking spot.
"I didn't know you drive," Morty said. "Usually the people of Blackthorn are proud to just use dragon pokémon as transportation."
"You make it seem like we're primitive," Lance chuckled, gripping the wheel as he stepped the gas on the road.
"It's written in your city's historical texts. Blackthorn may have progressed into modern times but is behind compared to the other cities of Johto. Its architecture speaks for itself and is heavily reliant on dragon flights. The worship of the dragon type in Blackthorn exceeds even Johto's worship of Ho-Oh and Lugia."
"Would it surprise you that I actually learned how to drive in Kanto?"
"That defeats your earlier comment of you saying your home city isn't primitive."
"We do use cars. I learned how to drive in Kanto because its flat roads are a lot easier for practice than Johto's. Also, Blackthorn is not as archaic as you think. I think the issue here, is the rest of Johto tends to view Blackthorn City so negatively because we're so secluded from the rest of the region, but we're not fully isolationist."
Morty accepted the answer. "Fine, I'll concede. I'm not one to talk since Ecruteak relies heavily on tradition and culture in their own right."
Lance laughed. "I was going to say..."
There was silence afterward, nothing further to fuel the conversation. Morty went to watch the road, watching the beedrill and butterflee fly through the plains. Nothing uncommon, but in a car with Lance was strange. He barely interacted with the man before this and could see his face attentive on the road through the glass of the windowsill. Although he took notice of his attire, the blue jumpsuit with the orange markings was not something from Blackthorn. It had to come from another region.
Lance's eyes slightly darted toward Morty, sensing his attention. "Yes?"
Morty blinked in surprise. Lance was quite observant, more so than most. He could have sensed him secretly staring.
"Your uniform," he said. "Where is it from? It's not reminiscent of traditional clothing Dragon Tamers wear of the Blackthorn clan."
"So you noticed. You're correct, it's not inspired by my clan... except the cape. I took inspiration from a faraway region that has a dragon uniform with a rich history."
"I see. That's fascinating. I suppose your travels have brought you to explore new areas."
Lance grinned. "Indeed, I recommend it. It's nice to explore new places and cultures."
"Perhaps I should go on more travels sometime. Anything to expand my training."
"Then follow your goals and find what you see fit. That's my advice."
Before Morty could speak, the car stopped near the daycare. His gengar sunk beneath his seat before reappearing near the facility's entrance.
"Thank you," He said. "I appreciate your advice, Champion Lance. I hope things get better regarding the cases of the sick dragon pokemon."
"Of course, I'll do all in my power to solve that. Take care. Again, thank you for your help."
Morty opened the door and went out of the car. He quickly jogged toward Gengar, who stood at the entrance.
A flash of light pulled Gengar into the capsule before he went walking into the daycare. Once Morty went inside, Lance's smile dimmed. His demeanor changed into a cold expression, sighing. He wasn't one to show it, he was good at hiding his feelings - but the turbulent emotions the Dragon Master faced beneath his kind persona were getting harder to conceal. The stress was slowly eating over his mind over these rising incidents. The most recent haunted him... echoing him back like a bell chime.
He couldn't forget the fear in the lass trainer's face. The impending doom of potentially losing a dear companion, the desperation she sought out to save her dragonair. Lance had to help her as it mortified him to see a dragon in such a horrible state. A cry for help was one he couldn't ignore from his high sense of justice. Even if it wasn't directly crime-related - he wanted to take part in the solution.
He first heard of an isolated incident a couple of weeks back, and it increased when he returned recently from a championship. He had been conducting an investigation for a cause. Slowing placing the pieces to the puzzle with the cases involving something acidic and poisonous. Was there a looming threat toward dragon pokémon? If so, why target those majestic creatures? Could they be salvaged? Could he truly fix this burden the poor pokémon faced? He was so keen on finding an answer.
Lance couldn't rest, he could never rest. There was always work to be done. Just another mission he had to complete.
Morty opened the door of the daycare. "Hello, I'm back – "
"Hey, Morty!" Whitney waved, with Bugsy and Janina watching pokémon play in their pens nearby.
"Oh, this is a surprise," he said. "What brings you all here?"
"We're just chilling before we head to National Park for the Bug Catching Contest. We were at Ilex Forest a bit for training. What have you been up to?"
Morty scratched the back of his head. "Well…"
He went to explain the story of what happened earlier, ending with small talk with Lance. Whitney crossed her arms. "Oh, I see. So he treats you kindly but he treats me like a child."
"What are you talking about?"
"Met Lance earlier at my city's department store. Got pissed when I joked about him cosplaying a superhero. Not sure why he got mad about that."
"Well, I don't think he likes to have his appearance mocked. Wait, he was at Goldenrod's department store?"
Whitney fumed. "I was joking! Augh!"
"Can you just move on from what happened earlier?" Bugsy muttered, annoyed from overhearing the topic. "Forget about Lance, move on. It's not like you see him often anyway."
"Yeah, you're right..." Whitney calmed herself, finding it pointless to continue. "He's too busy strolling around Kanto to pay attention to us. You know what, let that boring dragon boy say what he wants! He's gonna lose the champion title someday to a better trainer! I am betting Lyra will beat him. That trainer is really tough. If she can handle Miltank, she can handle anything!"
"Okay but don't insult him like that either."
Morty moved toward the front desk, ignoring Whitney's pointless dabble with Bugsy. He pushed the doorbell. "I'm here to pick up Umbreon and an egg."
The elderly Daycare woman came forth. "Oh, Leader Morty! Is everything all right with the dragon pokémon? I am still very sorry over what happened – "
"Don't worry, the dragonair was taken to the pokémon center. Lance made sure of it. She's going to be okay."
"Thank goodness! How awful that dragon pokémon have been suffering from poisonings across the region!"
"Yes, it's very concerning. I wonder what could be the cause of it."
"Let's hope it doesn't affect Jasmine's new dratini," Whitney mumbled.
"But Champion Lance could come back again!" Janina added. "He helped her last time, he could - "
"Sorry, what?" Morty interrupted.
"Oh." Whitney glanced at his surprised look. She smirked. "You don't know, huh? Well, sit down Morty. Got a story for ya."
It was sunset in the coastal city of Olivine. The Olivine Café had business very slow, the counter boy took the order of an Interpol agent. Once finished, the boy went into the kitchen. The black-haired agent took off his brown trench coat and placed it behind his seat. "It's quite hot in here, wouldn't you agree, Croagunk?"
The frog pokémon was too busy gobbling on his food to pay attention to his trainer. "Of course," Looker laughed. "You're enjoying that are you?" The pokémon finished eating and set the bowl on the table with a happy cry.
He was usually sent out to focus on incredibly tough cases regarding villainous teams, but Looker was brought to Johto by chance. He still had business in the Sinnoh region on a more dangerous case, but this minor case on the side in Johto had piqued his interest. He willingly accepted Lance's offer in aiding him, especially since this was in the aftermath of the Goldenrod Radio Tower incident with Team Rocket that he heard much about.
The glass doors opened, and Looker glimpsed at the guest. He greeted him fondly upon seeing his tall shadow and cape.
"Ah, there you are Champion Lance! I've been waiting for you! Take a seat!"
Lance reached the seat to push it back, then reclined with a sigh. Looker observed the champion's stiff composure, followed by a small scowl on his lips and his eyebrows slanting down to his vexed eyes.
"Look like you had a long day, Champion," Looker said.
Lance ran a hand through his hair, muttering something about a headache. Behind, Dragonite watched the television on display.
"Order something. I'm sure some food will do you some good," Looker suggested.
"Thank you, but I am not hungry…" Lance grumbled.
"Lack of nourishment can impede the mind. Especially when it comes to solving crime, you need your brain to stay sharp. Next, a young man such as you should be full of energy! Not acting like an old man who looks like he is having a mid-life crisis."
He inspected the champion's profile, seeking any abnormalities. "Hmm… something else bothering you? Trouble in the family? A romantic relationship gone sour?"
Lance backed away, uncomfortable with his close inspection. "Are we going to get started soon or did you call to waste time?"
"All right, all right. It should only require less than five minutes of your time. I only wanted to inquire about your mental state since your physical state looks off. It's best to continue serious cases when a person isn't clouded with stress… a clear mind if you will."
"I'll be fine." Lance rested his arm. "What is it that you found?"
"Very well, take a look at this." Looker pulled out a vanilla folder, before flopping it on the marble counter. "Been looking into the cases of each dragon pokémon that have fallen ill. It appears they were all under ownership. Each of its trainers from Blackthorn City, the place you hail from… correct?"
Lance nodded, flipping through the documents in the file. Looker pointed at the one he turned to. "That trainer's pokemon, a bagon - was recently released in Mahogany Town's Pokemon Center. His story isn't different from the next trainer, their swablu was hospitalized in Blackthorn City until yesterday night. Both of them share something in common, their pokemon were attacked and fell ill from poisoning."
He continued on, "I managed to interview both. They told prior to the illnesses they were in Blackthorn, only separated by a day. The boy trainer decided to camp out of Dragon's Den one night with his bagon – only to wake up from a terrifying scream. He found the bagon had been attacked. He treated his wound with some medicine. Only when he arrived at Mahagony Town, releasing his pokémon to train at the Lake of Rage… he saw that his leg was swollen and could not walk properly, before fainting. He took the bagon to the Pokémon Center where was treated for poisoning. They found a horrible wound on its leg – ripped flesh from acid followed by a horrible fever. The same for the trainer at Blackthorn. She was mediating in the Dragon's Den, until she heard her swablu cry out from being attacked. The tamer ran to find her swablu on the floor covered with acid and an awful decaying smell. She said she witnessed something purple slide away, leaving a barren trail behind. The swablu endured horrible burns all over her body and fell ill shortly with a fever. And one of the pokémon known for causing fevers if too close to them would be a muk. Or its even pre-evolution, grimer."
Lance continued to read the documents. "You're right, all of these cases… all of these pokémon and their trainers were at Dragon's Den before they got sick."
"Which brings me to my next question, Champion." Looker's eyes narrowed. "Blackthorn's native pokémon are dragons, correct?"
"Yes, dragon pokemon have been the dominant type in Blackthorn for generations now."
"Has the city ever had a problem with invasive species before?"
"I don't think so. Hold on, are you suggesting that muk and grimer have invaded Blackthorn?"
"More specifically the den. Today reported several cases of poisoned pokémon in the den."
"What?" Lance's eyes widened over this horrific news.
"Yes, over twenty new cases in the springs. Another twenty in the cave. Four were found dead outside of the cave. All the cases tie back to Blackthorn City."
Lance was stagnant in reply, feeling tense over the chilling events of this case that unraveled before him. "…How long has this been happening?"
"Recent," Looker answered grimly. "The cases of the illnesses under owned pokémon have occurred within the last week. If it helps, Clair has been informed and the Dragon's Den has closed to visitors. I know your clan is now fighting off the invasive poison types invading the holy land of dragons. The city of Blackthorn is doing its best to protect the people and dragon pokémon."
He placed the documents back into the folder before shutting them in his briefcase. "Now, I am going to investigate if this potential muk and grimer invasion has hit other parts of Johto, but seems it only has hit Blackthorn. This is very strange, considering Blackthorn is one of the cleaner cities of Johto, perhaps industrialization has increased the pollution. We have yet to determine if a criminal organization is behind this - where are you going?"
Lance reached the café's exit with Dragonite. This was more than enough information for him to take action into his own hands. He stopped briefly, clenching his fists before releasing all tension.
He issued, "To Blackthorn."